


Did we really win the war?

by Celebriana



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff, Harmione, Harmony - Freeform, Harry Potter Needs Therapy, Harry Potter Needs a Hug, Hurt/Comfort, Marriage, Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 07:35:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26848264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celebriana/pseuds/Celebriana
Summary: After the war there are good days, there are bad days and there are very bad days. Harry slowly learns to deal with the plethora of mental issues he's been left with, but not every day can be a win. Hermione is there to help him through it. This time their conversation takes an unexpected turn and they both find comfort in something they both thought of, but neither of them have yet said outloud.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter
Comments: 4
Kudos: 43





	Did we really win the war?

**Author's Note:**

> A small drabble that popped out of my head on a difficult day. I am mentioning few of my headcanons that perhaps could use a better explanation, the most prominent being Harry being able to use wandless magic. I have an incredibly soft spot for OP!Harry.

Hermione straightened up and put away the quill. She had spent a few hours buried in her research, going through various tomes she brought home from the Ministry. She massaged her shoulder and stretched her neck. It released a satisfying crack that made her sigh with relief. She grabbed an empty cup and got up, heading to the kitchen. On her way she noticed that their flat was eerily quiet. She was pretty sure Harry didn’t leave the house, but then again, last time she saw him was when they woke up and she dragged herself to the office.

She placed the cup in a sink, not bothering to wash it right away and decided to check the bedroom. Ah, there he was.

Harry was sitting on a windowsill (one of her favourite parts of their flat. She used to think that’s where she would spend her lazy mornings, with tea and a book in her hand. In reality, her lazy morning rarely consisted of getting out of bed). His face was facing the window and his shoulders were slightly slumped. He was holding a full cup of tea. She vaguely remembered brewing it for him in the morning. Did he leave the bedroom at any point? It’s been a few hours since she started working.

“Hey” she spoke softly, walking over to him. Harry flinched slightly and looked at her, his face emotionless. If anything, he looked tired.

“Are you alright?” she asked, running her hand through his unruly hair.

Harry looked into her eyes and then retreated to look out of the window. His face gave away nothing, his stare somewhat blank. That was not a good sign.

“I will be” he finally answered. Hermione’s brows furrowed, as she continued to quietly play with his hair. It seemed to be one of those days.

“Can I do anything for you?” she asked, placing one of her hands on his shoulder. Harry let go of the definitely cold cup of tea and covered her hand with his own palm. He slowly shook his head.

“It’s fine”

“It’s not and it’s ok, remember?” Hermione dug into her memory, looking for the guidelines from the therapist.

“No, that’s not what I…” Harry winced and started protesting, but Hermione was faster.

“I know what you meant, Harry Potter.”

Harry huffed, but the protest did not continue.

“Is it ok for me to stay?”   
He nodded his head.

“Then scoot.” Hermione started climbing onto the windowsill. Harry looked at her, eyes widening.

“I’m not sure if it’s a goo…”

“Oh hush, it will hold” he nested herself at the opposite side, back leaned against the window, her legs intertwining with Harry’s. She took her wand out of the wrist holster (very elegant one, she thought. To an untrained eye it looked like a very simple golden bracelet), summoned herself a blanket. She eyed the tea in Harry’s hand and decided to quietly warm it up. That surprised him and he ended up tilting the cup slightly, spilling the warm liquid onto his fingers.

“Whoops. Sorry” Hermione directed her wand back at the cup, but Harry just tapped the spilled liquid. Tea rose up to the air forming a bubble, leaving his hand dry. With the tiniest flick of his fingers he dropped the tea back into the cup. Hermione smiled. He was a show off, but she had to admit, it was pleasant to watch him use magic almost instinctively.

“Ok, but now that it’s warm again, you need to give me a sip” Hermione reached out her hand and her husband raised his eyebrows, but handed her the steaming cup without questions.

He observed her, as she was carefully drinking his tea.

“Did we really win the war, Hermione?”

The question hung in the air. Hermione paused for a second contemplating it.

“Why do you think we didn’t?” she finally asked, handing him back his tea. He accepted it, staring intensely at the surface of the liquid.

“I, uh…” his hand clenched at his leg. Hermione noticed that and casually grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Harry didn’t withdraw, still trying to find the right words “Sometimes it feels like not much changed. There’s still a lot of idiots fighting for Voldemort’s cause and eliminating the leader didn’t seem to… I don’t know. It was supposed to be over. We were supposed to be done.”

Hermione listened to him carefully, squeezing his hand tightly and slowly caressing the top of his hand with her thumb. She was thinking what could she possibly answer to that, but before she got to anything, Harry continued.

“And… I know it’s stupid, and selfish and probably naive, but…” he paused, stuck.

“But?” She prompted softly.

He carefully placed the cup down and uncomfortably ran his hand through his hair.

“Why does it still feel like this? Did we win the war if I still have to go through the same bullshit over and over again? I… I don’t believe that it’s going to get better at this point, I’m going to be stuck in this shitty state forever. So if neither I, nor bloody wizarding society is ok, then… why did we even fight this war? What was all that sacrifice for?”

His voice was quiet and progressively more strained. Hermione reached out and took hold of his other hand, clutched at his hair. She brought both of his hands together and held them reassuringly. She knew that these words were the result of a state Harry was in, but she couldn’t ignore how some of it did pull on the right strings. She pouted her lips and suddenly another thought popped into her head.

“I have an idea” she began, focused on his hands, slightly embarrassed to look up “What it could be for. But if you laugh at me, I swear I will hex you and I won’t tell you anything, ever!”

Harry cocked his head at these words. It wasn’t exactly what he expected to hear. 

“I won’t laugh.” he contemplated for a second. Hermione’s touch on his hands felt grounding and reassuring “At least not now.”

She swatted his leg lightly and looked up into his green eyes.

“I know it’s hard to imagine especially in moments like this, but I sometimes do think about the future and… It does look like it’s gotten better. I mean, days like this may never fully go away, but… We can face them together. And… all that seems worth it when… uh, when I think…”

Harry kept quiet not wanting to disturb her, waiting. Hermione exhaled, a pink blush creeping onto her face, but there was a soft smile on her lips. 

“So when I look into the future, I can see…  A little girl. Messy hair, your green eyes. I can see that. All of this - for her to live in a different reality then we had to. For her to be safe. And suddenly, it doesn’t even seem like that much anymore.”

She sheepishly looked at Harry, seeing how he would react. Harry was looking straight at her, his eyes wide, filled with tears

“Don’t… don’t you want that too?”

“I…” he cleared his throat “I do. I do want that”

She couldn’t help to tear up as well. 

“Then we have to keep on trying. For her.”

Harry awkwardly scooted closer to his wife. Hermione shifted her legs, leaving them dandling over his. Harry took her face into his hands and gently kissed her. That’s when the dam broke and tears trickled down the cheeks. Miraculously, they were happy tears.

“Can I say something very stupid?” whispered Harry against her lips.

“How different would it be from the regular?” answered Hermione with a small smirk.

“Hermione.”

“Sorry, couldn’t resist. Go on.”

“You…” he hesitated again and chose this moment to kiss her again, this time slower. This kiss sent shivers down Hermione’s spine “You did mention that you are considering a change of career.”

“Yes, but… how is that relevant?”

“What if…” he paused. She could feel his breath on her wet lips “What if… We could use that time and… Start trying… now?”

Hermione opened her eyes, slowly making sense of these words. She backed away just enough to look into his anxious eyes.

“Start trying… to… get pregnant?” Harry’s focused gaze confirmed what she heard “This… Isn’t it… Crazy?”   
“Is it?” he asked immediately. She thought for a second. It should sound mad, they were both still very young. But… somehow it did not.

“Are you serious?”

“I am” Harry answered under his breath, but then his eyebrows scrunched “Of course if you don’t feel like it’s the right…”

“No, I…” she interrupted “It somehow feels… right”

Harry exhaled, another tear trickling down his cheek and he… smiled.

“I mean, I always knew I wanted kids. With you. And… perhaps the timing would be right?”

Hermione nodded slowly, still in slight shock.

“I could take a year off before moving to another field.”   
“But do you…” he licked his lips nervously “Do you want that?”

This time it was her, who lurched forward and kissed him, hard. They parted their lips and deepened the kiss. This felt exhilarating.

“Yes” she mumbled “Yes, I do”

Harry laughed softly though the tears.

“We’re gonna have a baby” he whispered. This one sentence made Hermione’s head spin.

“We’re gonna have a baby” she repeated, trying out these very new words. While she knew that baby would not fix anything, somehow she was calm. This gave them both hope, something to look forward to. 

They embraced, waiting to calm down, for the tears to dry. From time to time, Harry was planting tiny kisses on her neck. She was stroking his back, content to feel his warmth and to hear his breath even out. At one point, however, she leaned back with a playful grin.

“So… Are we supposed to get to the baby-making part now?” Hermione asked, a devilish spark in her eyes. Harry chuckled lightly. He still looked tired, but something about him felt much lighter.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to give me a minute.”

Hermione giggled. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead on his, enjoying the change of the atmosphere. She was relieved to have managed to pull Harry out of the darkness. For now.

“I love you.” he whispered.

“If you are to be the father of my children, you better” she joked, pulling slightly onto his shirt. She gave his lips a quick peck, though “I love you too”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> The companion piece can be also found here:  
> https://www.instagram.com/p/CGBG6ckFHyf/?igshid=12nspfnipmn6j  
> Please give it some love if you liked it!


End file.
